Comments on Meanwhile in Jackson, Michigan...

Christ, but I'm glad I left Michigan.

Widows and orphans are unpopular in Michigan? "Why, I'm against 'em too!"

i though it was "commander in chief"... oh, that just makes it funnier.

Trust me. I've sent this photo to lots of Michiganders, and it leaves us scratching our heads. At first I thought they were being ironic. Or something. But now I think they just haven't mastered the English language. I now have a headache.

First of all, it's commander in chief not commander and chief.

I think they might be trying to say something anti-war, maybe they don't want troops getting killed, leaving their families behind.

We support the Commander. And Chief, we're against widows and orphans.

/got nuthin'

i'm from michigan but i don't that helps understand it. one thing i can tell you - if this picture was taken in jackson, they're *definitely* not being ironic.

i'm thinking the widows and orphans thing is a reference to teh troopz; specifically, they do not want them to die.

so... they support the war [by way of the "commander and chief"] AND the troops at the same time. maybe?

don't *think* that helps understand it.

It's a demand for better typesetting.

There's a reason why half of Michigan has left this century.

And I can't say I miss living on Grosse Isle, MI ...

Okay, here's my theory: there was some anti-war group in town marching that had a name like "Widows and Orphans Against the War". The ice cream shop owner is trying, in his amusingly illiterate way, to express solidarity with the president by noting his disapproval of said group.

(I'm from Ann Arbor, next major city over from Jackson, FWIW... although the two cities have very little in common aside from geography.)

It seems obvious that it's a slam on Bush - e.g., if you support Bush, you hate widows and orphans. Yes, it's ironic. Come on.

I think it's a convoluted way of saying that they are against the creation of widows and orphans (by troops dying.)
So basically they're saying, "We support the president because we don't want the troops to die."

Widows and orphans hate ice cream. The commander in chief LOVES ice cream. Everybody outside Seattle knows this.

Or, maybe it's supposed to be snarky and sarcastic.

The Commander and Chief were against widows and orphans. But, now they are for widows and orphans, and we support that.

Get 'em on the phone and ask for a clarification. Isn't that why you have an intern?

Thank you conium...
My theory was instantly thus:
Bush claims to be a Christian. Maybe the biggest, most appealing thing about Christianity is the social justice called for at the end of the Old Testament and echoed by JC himself (big ups!): Care for the Widows, Orphans, and Aliens.
It's clear W doesn't give a shit about the 'Aliens' so it's assumed Widows and Orphans don't register in his priorities either.
So, to summarize, support of W is like joining a hate club against W, O and A's.

Join up, Christians!!

Bingo #18

So, does this joint sell "French - er, FREEDOM Vanilla"?

They try hard here in Michigan. I'll bet Kelly O has no clue (anymore) what this is all about! But, maybe - her brother said she has to stop and photograph every damn msg. sign from Alpena to Detroit (about 230 miles). He won't pick her up at Detroit anymore.

hey, Jackson rocks! don't be knocking it. you should have also gotten a photo of the "do not pick up hitchhikers" sign next to the state prison.

Jolly Pirate Donuts ftw!

@18 - I read it that way as well.

Book of James, 1:27 - True Religion is to care for widows and orphans and to keep oneself from the world.

Basically, saying that supporting Bush isn't necessarily Christian.

it seems to be a anti-war message. the trick has always been how to seem patriotic when making an anti-war statement. so you say something to cover both sides:

"i support the troops, but i am against the war."

I read it as total sarcasm.

Kinda funny, actually.

i agree with gurldoggie @17. get the manager on the phone, stat. we need answers, dammit!

Sarcasm? In Jackson, Michigan? Not likely.

Another Michigander here who is as confused as the rest of you. (Though I also reside in the People's Republic of Ann Arbor, which isn't really in Michigan.)

I demand you send a Stranger reporter to Michigan to cover this story!

this is like seattle people making fun of tacoma people. elitism is the same world over.

Maybe some trampy teenagers got up there and messed with their sign in the dead of night. I would have found that amusing as a teenager. Even more amusing if it spawned a time-wasting debate on irony vs. bad English.

Okay. I live in the PRAA, too. But I'm not making fun of Jackson. In Ann Arbor we just had the anti-development jihadists threaten violence against new apartment buildings. No joke. So we can't really throw stones. Our crazy is just a different kind of crazy.

At any rate, my friend who took the photo thinks that these folks are Bush supporters who think Bush will keep us safe, thereby keeping innocents from being killed and stopping the needless creation of orphans and widows. I think I'm more in line with 18. And another friend thinks this sign was created under the influence of brain freeze.

Hey, check out the rainbow colored arrow next to the words "DRIVE THRU", and the phallic looking treat on top. Why, that ice cream isn't soft at all!

Maybe they're referring to "widows and orphans" from the 9/11 attacks. This would be a typical hair-brained right wing argument.

@30: Congratulations, and why did it take so long to get the right answer? Rearranging the letters on readerboard signs is a classic teenage prank. By the way, this is a big damn signpost, even if you're climbing on top of a big SUV or van. I suspect the prankster was armed with one of those long poles with an attachment designed specifically to install letters on a readerboard.

I think it is refering to money for our troops. I think it is trying to say if you don't fund the war you are killing the troops.

All I'm saying is, if A Daily Show can send a reporter to Iceland, the Stranger can send a report to Greenland, MI and find out.

Jackson is the birthplace of TED NUGENT. *Now* do you get it?

Hell, The Stranger doesn't even cover the "WAKE UP AMERICA!" vet-for-Kerry scrapyard sign updates off Westlake Ave!

I took this photo over two years ago (Nov. '05), but here's a prime example of the anti-Bush Vet sign off Westlake Ave.:

http://www.mackron.com/random/wakeup_final_small.jpg

@11 Well,well Mr. Scarborough; we meet again. Long time since the class of 88' isn't it?

Using the visual information in the posted photo, I determined that the business is Amanati's Frosty Boy.

The first time I called the place a gruff guy answered with a "Hello?" He apparently couldn't hear me and he hung up.

A few minutes later, after verifying that it's the right number, I called back. The business is probably closed during the winter months, so I was prepared for another "Hello?" And indeed he answered with another gruff "Hello?" I asked if this was Frosty Boy and he asked who I was. I gave him my name and told him I wanted to find out the meaning the sign.

I mentioned the "Commander and chief" part and he blurted out "You don't know who the commander in chief is?!" I said I did but that I wasn't sure about the wodows and orphans part. He mumbled something like "you don't get that?!" and then he hung up on me. I did not call back.

Others are, I suppose, free to call him and find out the meaning of the sign. The number is listed on the site linked to above. But be aware you might get a gruff guy who is possibly sitting in his house instead of working in his business.

Also, it's a chilly 18F in Jackson presently.

heh, Red never died. He just moved to Michigan to open an ice cream shop.

"WHE'Z MY FADDA?"

"Your FATHA's is in ya, is in yr mutha's arsehole, you fuckin' bum"

meaning's clear as day:

A WELL REGULATED
COMMANDER AND CHIEF
BEING NECESSARY TO
WIDOWS AND ORPHANS
SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED

The freedom to hate widows and orphans is one of the things that makes America great.

It's not missing an apostrophe. "We support the commander and chief" "Were against widows and orphans"

Meaning that they were but no longer are against widows and orphans. Seems pretty straight forward.

I agree with elenchos that the Iced Cream parlor demands superior typesetting. I wonder what the owner thinks of kerning and comic sans, too?

While the soft-serve ice cream industry is not known for its thoughtfulness or its incisive writing, I can imagine three potential meanings:

1. Straight: We support Bush though we hope there will be no more widows and orphans who have to suffer.

2. Ironic: We [certainly] support [our brilliant, Christian] commander [in] chief [because we delight in the sorrows of] widows and orphans.

3. Political: We support [Bush] and we're opposed to the widows and orphans [campaigning against the war, in the form of the Michigan chapter of Military Families Against the War http://www.mfsomichigan.org/].

Ice cream induced brain freeze was a good suggestion too.

There are actually TWO gramatical errors in the message: The President is the "Commander IN Chief" [not "and"], I'm surprised the ever-vigilant Dan didn't catch that...

Ray

I'm the least sympathetic person I know but give the guy a break.

I live down the street from the place and the guy is a friendly, older man who often talks and posts messages on his sign without a lot of thought.

I think he is trying to say 1, That he supports the president.
2, That he doesn't want soldiers to be killed and leave widows and orphans behind.

Obviously 2 does not folllow a very logical path from 1. But if I wanted to, I'm sure I could shoot holes in the grammar and logic of most of the people posted above.

He makes great ice cream by the way. The old fashioned, labor-intensive way. Get yourself a cone and chillax.

I'm the least sympathetic person I know but give the guy a break.

I live down the street from the place and the guy is a friendly, older man who often talks and posts messages on his sign without a lot of thought.

I think he is trying to say 1, That he supports the president.
2, That he doesn't want soldiers to be killed and leave widows and orphans behind.

Obviously 2 does not folllow a very logical path from 1. But if I wanted to, I'm sure I could shoot holes in the grammar and logic of most of the people posted above.

He makes great ice cream by the way. The old fashioned, labor-intensive way. Get yourself a cone and chillax.